'Fatbergs' clogging UK drains to be burnt for energy

A power station in East London is to use greasy build-ups from
Thames Water's drains -- known as fatbergs -- as fuel to generate
electricity.

These fatbergs clog up the sewers and cause 40,000 blockages
ever year in Thames
Water's network of sewers, and it costs around £1 million every
month to remove them and they tend to get dumped as waste. But from
2015, the company will collect solidified grease from London's
sewer network and from restaurant kitchens and send them to the
Beckton combined heat and power plant. It will also collect
leftover low-grade cooking oil and fat from manufacturers.

This collected fat will contribute around half of the plant's
daily fuel allowance -- around 30 tonnes per day -- although this
is predicted to increase over time. The rest of the plant's fuel
will come from waste vegetable oils and tallow fat. The initiative
is part of a £200 million, 20-year deal between Thames Water and
utility company 20C, which runs the plant.

The power plant aims to generate a total of 130 Gigawatt hours
per year of renewable electricity, enough for 39,000 homes. Thames
Water will buy back 75 GWh to power the Beckton Sewage works and a
desalination plant, meaning that the company will get 20 percent of
its energy from renewables (up from 14 percent). The rest will be
sold back to the grid.

Thames Water commercial director Piers Clark called the project
a "win-win", providing renewable power while tackling the problem
of fatbergs.

When the plant is up and running, it will be the world's largest
fat-fuelled power station.